This invention relates generally to a lubrication distributor of the type used to transport a lubricant, such as oil, to a plurality of points requiring lubrication. More particularly, the invention relates to an oil distributor which provides a wide range of flow rates of oil to complex machinery such as knitting machinery.
In the past, lubrication of equipment such as knitting machinery has been accomplished by the user of mist-oil lubrication systems. In such lubrication systems, lubricating oil is suspended as an aerosol in a stream of air and is carried in this state through a tube or other enclosed channel to a remote location requiring continuous lubrication. The oil is generally placed in the aerosol state at a central oil-mist source, each central oil-mist source being connected to a plurality of transmitting tubes for the simultaneous and continuous lubrication of a plurality of locations on a single machine or group of machines. The aerosol or oil fog is created by a venturi, large droplets being removed from the air-oil stream by impinging the stream against a baffle. The fog remaining in a chamber or manifold is carried to the point of lubrication by the flow of the air portion of the stream.
The known mist-oil lubrication systems, while producing satisfactory lubrication, have proved deficient in several respects, namely, the range of oil volume deliverable to lubrication points is limited, and uniform delivery of oil to a plurality of points over a range of volumes has proved difficult.
What is needed is a lubrication system that distributes a wider range of volumes of lubricant uniformly to a plurality of points for lubrication.